Riverdale dons black jerseys in 41st meeting

Second-ranked Riverdale capped its first perfect regular season in four years Friday night at Tomahawk Stadium, beating Oakland 35-7 in the 41st Battle of the ’Boro. Riverdale now owns a 31-11 series edge over Oakland.

Riverdale senior Adam Davenport ran for two touchdowns and caught one, finishing with 157 total yards. His 129 yards rushing on 14 carries was his second-biggest total for a season.

He now has 714 yards on 116 carries. Davenport had more than 1,600 yards last season in 13 games.

“I’m trying to get back to where I was last year,” Davenport said. “I had some problems earlier on, but I’m getting there.”

Riverdale (10-0, 5-0 in 7-AAA) will be the top seed in Quadrant 2 when the TSSAA Class 6A playoffs are announced today. Oakland (6-4, 2-3) will also be in the playoffs.

The Warriors donned black jerseys, black pants and black socks for a Riverdale Blackout.

“We didn’t know if we were going to have them,” Davenport said. “They gave us black socks (Thursday). They didn’t tell us anything.”

Riverdale coaches didn’t give the players the jerseys until after they had warmed up before the game in their cardinal home jerseys.

“We went back (to the locker room) and they gave them to us,” Davenport said. “It was awesome.”

Riverdale finished with 387 yards. The Warriors rushed for 328 yards on 33 carries against the Patriots, who ended the regular season with back-to-back losses.

Davenport scored all three of his touchdowns in the first half. His final score just before halftime was a dagger to Oakland’s hopes. It came just after Jahaad Lyons 1-yard touchdown run with 2:10 left in the half.

Davenport broke for a 67-yard run on the first play from scrimmage to move the ball to the Oakland 25.

“The turning point for me was when Davenport hit that long one,” Oakland coach Thomas McDaniel said. “It got them in scoring position right before half. I really felt like we got some momentum going there.”

Davenport scored five plays later.

“The transformation for him has taken place over the last few weeks,” Riverdale coach Ron Aydelott said. “He’s picked up his practice habits a little bit. I know he was frustrated with some nagging injuries.

“He’s kind of gotten over those.”

Riverdale quarterback Dillon Woodruff had 125 yards on seven carries with a 75-yard touchdown run. He also completed 4 of 9 passes for 59 yards. Mariko Odom had 55 yards on six carries, including a 36-yard TD.

But Davenport gave the Patriots the biggest amount of trouble.

“You have to account for him even with the struggles that he has had,” McDaniel said. “You know he’s still a great runner. They are a lot more multiple.

“You have to account for him on every play. It was our plan to account for him every play.”

Oakland finished with 262 total yards — 155 rushing yards and 107 passing yards. Andre Chesterfield had 48 yards on 15 carries. Travon Willis had 38 yards on five carries and Fredarius Wade had 37 yards on eight carries.

Willis also had three catches for 79 yards. His 21-yard run on second-and-28 helped set up Lyons’ score.